i hope no one ever has to see or hear what i/we encountoured on wednesday.wednesdays for our cycling group is a recovery ride, and one that we get newbies to come along to as well as the pace is a little slower.on our return back from La perouse i heard the crushing of carbon from just behind me. i knew there was a crash and it seamed big. after the carbon noise there were other noises that followed. i turned around and saw one of our cyclists down on the road and a car that had crashed into some trees.what happened...............the car had hit our last cyclist from behind where our cyclist lost control and crashed to the ground, only to have the car run over his body with both front and rear wheels. our friend was a mess, but still breathing. the driver of the vehicle was having a sezuire. ambulance took 15 minutes to arrive which felt like an eternity, but we had a doctor waling past with a minute of the accident.3 ambulances and two police cars arrived and were excellent as always with assisting.our cyclist went to hospital and since wednesday morning there are more and more injuries that surfacing.His face needs plastic surgery, he has at least 8 missing teeth, his toungue has been torn in two, he has a broken collarbone, many broken ribs, two fractured vertabrae, pelvis broken on two sides and damage to his legs. he had undergone surgery yeterday for 11 hours.i dont normally write long threads, but i felt compelled to let people know. please be careful on the roads.

Last edited by ni78ck on Fri Dec 09, 2011 8:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

Oxford wrote:not good, I hope the rider makes a full recovery. best wishes to them.

only suggestion I can make is that if you (and the rest of the bunch) have access to counseling services, take it up. I know it sounds silly, but do it. you'd be surprised at how this may affect you, now and in the future.

we all got together yesterday for coffee and spioke about it. there are a couple of guys that witnessed it and will need the counciling. me included.

Geez what can you say really? My SIL is an Epo and the last time she had a siezure she got her head wedged in btween 2 bathroom cabinets, broke her c1 and c2 and wore a halo for 6 months.If the driver had a siezure pre collision, they'll probably lose their licence. If that is the case I hope they both can recover fully physically and mentally. Huge blow for your mate.

Percrime wrote:I don't know if their is any point asking cyclists to be more careful in that circumstance. I take it the drivers seizure caused the accident

not sure if he had the seizure after or before tha accident.no harm in telling people to be careful though.

It does sort of imply being careful might make a difference.. in circumstances when from what you say it absolutely would not have. If you say "Be careful" when it makes no difference.. well er... the message is not worth much. Be way better off telling people to not have seizures.. that 'might' make someone go to the quack

Percrime wrote:It does sort of imply being careful might make a difference.. in circumstances when from what you say it absolutely would not have. If you say "Be careful" when it makes no difference.. well er... the message is not worth much. Be way better off telling people to not have seizures.. that 'might' make someone go to the quack

What the heck are you bothering to argue about this for? An ego boost? IMO - this thread is not the place for it.

Thank you for the reminder. Coming across an accident is one thing, looking after an injured for weeks and months after is another. That one case left a permanent mark in my memory and I learnt to really respect the road and traffic when I ride.

There is such a thing as an absolute accident (lap of the gods version). My mum was driving home from shopping, just coming up our street (a court) when she suffeed the first (of three eventual) brain aneurisms. She had a seizure, the car revved as she spasmed, front left wheel clipped a power pole which luckily trashed the CV joint and seized up the drive. The car limped slowly across the cul de sac and hit another tree, coming to rest with mum in seizure. Luckily no-one was riding/driving nearby and the seized FWD prevented a collision at speed.

Mum was hospitalised and recovered a bit but further hemorrages led to her passing away. RIP. This was 15 years ago now, so it's not so sad any more.

There was no reason to expect this sort of thing to happen, it just does to some people. This driver may have suffered a similar condition.

Nik, I tried to PM you but can't figure this out as it's my first post of the forum.

A mate and I rode past this Wednesday morning about 5 minutes after it happened. Please don't think me disrespectful for not stopping, however as I saw all the required people were on hand when I passed, I would not have been of any assistance. As I rode over the up over the slight rise at MC Cyclery and saw the lights flashing, my heart sunk because I had a feeling it was a man down. I know from the shop jerseys that one or two of you were wearing that you are a safe bunch, and so rider error was most likely not to blame for the incident.

If you don't mind letting me know via email ( rhyswayne at gmail dot com) where your mate is staying, I'd appreciate it. Having been in hospital for extensive periods of time myself, I know how crap it is, and that even people you might not know visiting you with colouring-in books and magazines can be a god-send. I know this is probably a long way off for your friend at this stage, but I'm willing to help out if you need it.

Once again sincerest condolences, and I hope it doesn't dissuade those on hand from riding as they do.

Hi Nick. What sad news. I hope your friend recovers from this accident and I hope that you and the other riders are able to deal with what you witnessed. I agree with what Oxford said, it's good to talk about these things. Best wishes to your friend.

Thanks il padrone for sharing your story too. It is a good reminder that sometimes accidents are accidents.

Nick very sorry to hear about this accident. I hope your friend has a full recovery and it isn't too long and neither is the financial burden on him and his family. Good luck to him, and your group, it would be horrible to be in and see.Russ

Oh, God. I so hope your riding friend makes a full recovery. Thankfully he's alive. And my sympathies to you as well. It is very hard to deal with. Take up the counselling services, you will need them.

It would be worth investigating whether the driver knew he was a risk or had a history. It was reported in the local paper awhile back that a senior consultent to (I think) the navy knew he was a risk and didn't take his meds and either killed or seriously injured another party after having a seizure while driving. He was jailed.

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